2004 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 14 Michigan $+ 7–1  9–3 
No. 8 Iowa + 7–1  10–2 
No. 17 Wisconsin 6–2  9–3 
Northwestern 5–3  6–6 
No. 20 Ohio State 4–4  8–4 
Purdue 4–4  7–5 
Michigan State 4–4  5–7 
Minnesota 3–5  7–5 
Penn State 2–6  4–7 
Illinois 1–7  3–8 
Indiana 1–7  3–8 
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2004 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth and final season under head coach Ron Turner, the Illini compiled a 3–8 record (1–7 in conference games), tied for last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 323 to 240.[1] Turner was fired as head coach at the conclusion of the season.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jon Beutjer (1,082 passing yards), running back Pierre Thompson (893 rushing yards, 60 points scored), and wide receiver Kendrick Jones (47 receptions for 687 yards).[2]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 45:00 pmFlorida A&M*
ESPN PlusW 52–1346,106[3]
September 1111:00 amUCLA*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ABCL 17–3547,457
September 181:00 pmWestern Michigan*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 30–2751,452
September 2511:00 amNo. 15 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
ESPN PlusL 31–4250,532
October 21:00 pmat No. 20 Wisconsin
L 7–2482,306
October 911:00 amat Michigan State
ESPN PlusL 25–3872,441
October 1611:00 amNo. 14 Michigan
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
ABCL 19–3055,725
October 231:00 pmat Minnesota
L 0–4546,526
October 3011:00 amNo. 23 Iowadagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ESPN PlusL 13–2347,651
November 61:00 pmIndiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 26–2241,458
November 2011:00 amat Northwestern
ESPN PlusL 21–28 OT23,563
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[4]

Roster

2004 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 7 Jon Beutjer Sr
RB 33 Brock Bolen Fr
FB 34 Jason Davis Jr
WR 84 Kendrick Jones Jr
RB 23 Marcus Mason So
C 60 Ryan McDonald Fr
RB 3 Walter Mendenhall Fr
QB 16 Chris Pazan So
C 75 Duke Preston Sr
RB 30 Pierre Thomas So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
CB 18 Alan Ball So
DL 96 Chris Norwell  So
DL 98 Xavier Fulton Fr
CB 6 Kelvin Hayden Sr
LB 47 Jeremy Leman  Fr
S 42 Kevin Mitchell  Fr
DE 66 Brian Schaefering Jr
LB 44 Matt Sinclair Sr
DE 91 Derek Walker Fr
LB 48 Remond Willis Fr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 13 Jason Reda Fr
P 37 Steve Weatherford Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Florida A&M

1 2 3 4 Total
Rattlers 0 0 0 13 13
Fighting Illini 7 24 21 0 52
StatisticsFAMUILL
First downs2126
Total yards358554
Rushing yards71296
Passing yards287258
Turnovers30
Time of possession29:2630:34
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Florida A&M Passing Ben Dougherty 22/34, 144 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Josh Driscoll 8 rushes, 40 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Derek Williams 3 receptions, 59 yards
Illinois Passing Jon Beutjer 16/18, 228 yards, TD
Rushing Pierre Thomas 14 rushes, 143 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Kendrick Jones 3 receptions, 101 yards

References

  1. ↑ "2004 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  2. ↑ "2004 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Illini back in win column". The Rock Island Argus. September 5, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "2004 Results". University of Illinois–Urbana/Champaign Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football_team